Stripped Humanity
by RelicWhite
Summary: There were tales of an infamous chain known as "the binder", who's powers struck fear into contractor's hearts. What will everyone do when its powers can bring even Xerxes to his knees?
1. News of a chain

"Another chain? Really? This is the forth one this week!" Alice shouted up at Break, who offered a bored shrug.

"Do you wish to find your memories, or has our little encounter with Oz's father last week changed your mind? I understand if you can't handle it…" Break couldn't finish as Alice gave a yell. Everyone in the room couldn't help but giggle as Alice repeated Break's words in fury.

"CAN'T HANDLE IT?! I should snap you in half you stupid clown!"

Break chuckled and pulled out a small piece of red candy from his pocket.

"That anger could far better be used on taking out this chain you know. I hear it's causing quite a bit of distress. Usually Pandora would handle this issue since it's so close to headquarters anyway, but I think you might want to take this one personally," he said thoughtfully. "I may even go myself."

At that Oz raised his head. Ever since Break had collapsed after summoning Hatter last week he'd been forced to bed by Sharon and the other Rainsworth family members. Oz had seen the extent of the toll Hatter had on Break's body before, but never this badly. Gil's expression seemed to mimic his thoughts as well.

"Err, Break I'm not sure that's such a good idea. You know, considering what happened last week I'm sure you're still a bit tired," Gil said with sincere concern.

Break waved this away with his hand and smiled widely. "I assure you all I am quite fine. I only suggest I go for my own entertainment. This chain seems to be a rather interesting one and truth to be told I'm surprised at Pandora's disinterest."

"And why is that?" Alice said slightly confused.

"Because even I can't find a file on it," Break replied and everyone turned to hear Sharon gasp.

"But…..you always have a file on it. You're Break!" Sharon said causing everyone to laugh. This was indeed true however. Break seemed to know all about chains and the workings of Abyss. He knew things that made even Lord Barma itch to get a look at his brain.

"Ah, but Miss Sharon to find a file, you have to have a name and place to start looking. That's another reason I can't help but be interested. There are no eye-witness accounts, nor traces of this chain. It's almost as though it erases its tracks along with the humans it kills."

At that Break walked to the window over-facing the countryside. "And not only that, but with me along you could easily find it. By simply just using me as bait, that is."

Alice spit out the water she was drinking and laughed.

"You? As bait? Trust me if I don't want you around neither will this chain. I'm sure there are thousands of less annoying targets in this city!"

"Alice, Alice," said Break in a mischievous tone, "Are you always this stupid or are you just having a particularly rough day?"

Before Alice could give a rather vulgar reply Break continued. "As you all know chains can smell other chains. This specific one manages to kill many people and yet leaves absolutely no trace. This obviously, means it is rather powerful. Do you all follow?" Gil, Alice, Oz, and Sharon nodded silently. "A week ago I released enough of Hatter's power to completely erase every chain in this city. The mark of my chain is faint now, but spread everywhere. This chain should still be able to sense it as a threat and, being powerful, want to destroy it. If you bring me, you bring the threat this chain may want to seek out. If not, I won't be trouble anyway."

"So basically you're volunteering to put yourself in danger? That's so unlike you!" Oz said extremely confused by Break's reasoning.

"YOU IDIOT YOU ARE NOT GOING YOU HEAR ME?!" Sharon yelled across the room at Break. "WHATEVER YOU REALLY WANT YOU BETTER SAY IT NOW MISTER OR I SWEAR I WILL TELL MY MOTHER!"

Break gave a small smile and backed just an inch farther away from her. "I will not endanger myself in any way Miss Sharon I can assure you. I'm just going because I'm genuinely curious, is that an ok excuse? It was stupid of me to weaken myself so badly last week and I'm sorry. However, it's still my duty to help with this investigation as well as aid Pandora."

"I…..alright. Just don't do anything stupid," Sharon said with an annoyed sigh.

"I can't guarantee that, but being stupid has usually served me well! I'll meet you by the carriage in 10 minutes. Be ready to fight," at that, Break stepped into the closest closet to him and after a thorough check by Alice, was determined to have left.

"So….I guess that means were going into town?" Oz said lamely after this whole event.

"I hate that clown. Not only are we going, but I also can't quite figure out the point in the conversation where WE decided to let him come," Alice huffed.

Gil finally stood up and started heading to his room for extra ammunition. "Lets all just get this over with ok? I'm tired and out of cigarettes. Not good for me. Maybe if we get this done fast I can stop in at a store somewhere."

Oz finished off the tea he was having and left for his room to prepare as well, followed by Alice. Sharon remained seated at the head of the table and smiled to herself.

_Thank God Break didn't invite me along. _She thought while sipping her tea. _I'm only on page 38 of that new romance book Oz's sister lent to me….its finally getting steamy!_ With that last word ringing in her head she ran out of the room and down the hall to the library where her book awaited her.


	2. Bad Bait and the Black Eye

"You've got to be the worst bait I've ever seen in my life," Alice said as Break bounced happily along ahead of everyone.

"I told you I was doing this for myself," Break called back. "I've been cooped up in that mansion for a week and I was bored. Besides, the chains don't usually come out till nightfall. Contractors prefer it so they're not to be seen."

All 4 of them had been there for 2 hours already and Alice had not even sensed a chain's presence. Gil was contently smoking a cigarette he had stopped to get and Oz was getting tired.

"You were right though," Alice said in Break's direction suddenly.

"Eh? About what?" he replied confused. Alice gave a little laugh and sighed.

"This place reeks of your chain," she said before adding "Let's stop for dinner."

Everyone nodded in agreement and ducked into a little diner across the street. The room was poorly lit, but this was expected for a restaurant on this side of the city. Everything was a bit run down which made it prime estate for chain and contractor attacks.

"Mmmmm. Meeeaaaattttt," Alice said as she chowed down on her dinner along with everyone else. Break followed suit eating a slice of cake after explaining that these were one of the "rare times Miss Sharon wasn't there to insist dessert comes after the meal."

Suddenly, Alice's eyes widened and her plate went crashing to the floor. Everyone looked startled and Oz had already jumped out of his seat.

"Alice what is it?" he asked joining her by her side.

"The chain! I smell it and it's close!" she said and everyone ran out the door onto the street.

"Which direction?" Gil yelled. Alice gave no reply but bolted off to the left signaling for all of them to follow.

They twisted through the city for what seemed like ages until the sounds of screaming reached their ears. They turned a corner onto a dark street, where they encountered an odd sight.

Two people stood far apart and one was screaming in what sounded like terrible pain. A girl clutched the screaming man's shirt collar in a deathly grip.

"What's going on here!" Oz yelled, confused by the sight of 3 humans and no chains.

The girl let go of the man's shirt and he fell to the ground as she whirled around. Oz jumped back when he saw her eyes. One normal blue, and one completely black. No whites at all.

"O-oh! Thank god you're here!" Said the girl who was clearly thrown off guard. "These men where attacking me! Thank god I knew self defense. They're both contractors you see!" She said as she cut open the shirt of the man on the ground, revealing his incuse.

"Don't worry!" said Oz confidently. "We're here to help!"

"Wait!" said the other man. "That's not true at all!"

"And how is that?" said Gil obviously not believing him.

"She…." He began. Suddenly the girl gave a cry and threw her knife at him, hitting him dead straight in the chest. He fell without saying a word as she screamed "LIAR! HE TRIED TO KILL ME! THAT DIRTY TWISTED CONTRACTOR WASTE!"

Oz ran to the now dead man and found no pulse. He lifted his shirt to reveal that this man too, was a contractor. Meanwhile Gil ran to the girl and pulled her away from the other man but he was also still. Gil looked him over and shouted to Oz "This one's not breathing!"

The girl sniffled and Gil brought her back to where Alice, Break and Oz were now standing.

"Are you ok?" Oz asked quietly, and as she nodded he sighed. "How about you come back with us? We were out trying to find an illegal contractor and some chain that have been killing people. I don't know if either of those guys were connected, but maybe you could tell us some stuff."

"I…I really can't," she said looking down. "I have to return to my uh, parents. Yeah that's it. If you want to talk I'll meet you here tomorrow, but now I just want to get home." Oz nodded in understanding.

"Alright, is noon ok? It's probably best to be here in the day."

"Sure, I'll be here," was all she said and she turned to leave.

Oz looked back to the others and sighed. "Looks like we just missed it, but maybe one of these guys was its contractor. I don't think it would come back tonight anyway."

Alice nodded and wrinkled her nose. "Yeah it was definitely here, and really not long ago at all. It stinks worse then your chain Break!" She said with a laugh that Break did not return.

"I think we should leave," Break said expressionless. "Now."

"Come on we didn't get to finish our dinner! I'm still hungry. Plus this chain can't be dumb enough to return to the same place right?"

"Don't ask questions, we really need to leave!" Break said as doomful finality crept into his voice.

"Alright, alright, jeez what's your issue?" Alice said as she turned and began to walk.

"Yes, indeed. What is your issue? And while we're at it, what is yours? …Alice," Said a familiar voice.


	3. Heartache

Alice turned back around to see the girl from before standing in the road about 20 feet from them. Oz gave a smile and took a few steps forward offering a wave.

"Oh hello! Did you decide to maybe come talk to us after all? I would love….." Oz stopped short when Break's sword shot into his peripheral view.

"Get back Oz," Break said as he stepped forward. "She's the chain."

"What?!" Said everyone in unison. The girl couldn't be but 13 or so years old, with a sweet face and attractive air about her, excluding that one seemingly cursed eye. Alice sniffed again.

"It is her!" She exclaimed before giving a growl.

"But she killed those illegal contractors, that's good right?" said Oz as he reasoned. "Why would she do that?"

"Because," said Break carefully, "It's how she sees them. Even her words say it. She referred to them as 'Dirty twisted contractor waste' I believe, isn't that right?" He asked the girl, who grinned.

"Oh you caught that did you? I never could keep my mouth shut," she said.

Oz stepped forward to give a reply when Gil clamped his hand over his mouth. He put a finger to his lips and leaned close to Oz's ear and motioned Alice to come close too.

"Break was quoting her words and got you behind him for a reason. You two need to keep quiet." Gil whispered. Oz gave a muffled "Why?" and Gil shushed him sternly.

"Because Oz," he said through gritted teeth. "You're technically an illegal contractor."

Alice rolled her eyes and backed a few steps away from the close contact they just had from whispering.

"So? She's just a chain! Nothing we haven't seen before! I can beat her down easily. Just release my power, will ya kelp head?"

The girl gave an interested tilt of her head, obviously overhearing Alice's words.

"How odd," She said curiously, "You're just like me. A fellow chain who can look so human, so unthreatening. That is, until we don't want to. You can smell that I am the chain you're looking for, but I can smell that the blonde boy there is your contractor. And he's been rather naughty!"

"Naughty? Oz isn't bad at all! You're the one that goes around killing people you freakish hag!" yelled Alice.

"Ah, I'm not sure you would call it killing people per say, but I do definitely kill," Said the girl with a smirk.

Gil released his grip on Oz's mouth before he said in anger, "But we just saw you kill those two men!" To which the girl looked him over thoughtfully,

"Yes but they weren't really human, you really don't understand and its something I find quite funny. They were contractors…."

"THEY WERE STILL HUMAN," Oz said finally, cutting off the girl's argument and excuses.

"So?" said the girl blankly, "So what they're human? Do you want to know why I hate contractors so much? It's because they look down on their chains. To contractors, chains are vile beasts who's lives are easily replaceable and material items. I fix that."

Everyone looked thoughtfully at the girl for a moment. Even Break seemed a bit confused by this statement.

"And how do you fix that?" Break asked.

The girl took a breath as a gust of eastern wind wafted and blew her hair back. Break saw her inhale deeply as his scent flew in her direstion.

"So YOU'RE where that ungodly chain smell is coming from!" Yelled the girl as her expression changed deadly angry. "You also reek of contractor, illegal and Pandora. How in the world is that possible?!"

"I get around," was Break's only reply. He was twirling his cane-sword in boredom. "Now can you please answer my question? How exactly does killing contractors change their outlook on chains? I'd love to hear your idiotic reasoning."

The girl tried to keep her calm look but anger was creeping into her voice even more now.

"Oh I'll show you, no need for words here as it's quite simple really. You're an agent of Pandora nowadays is that it? You use your chain's powers for human gain. You destroy chains who harm though they don't know what they're doing. You kill innocents and believe you're doing good. You make me sick!" She yelled before vanishing into thin air.

Break turned around towards the others in confusion from the girl's disappearance when Gil suddenly yelled "BREAK BEHIND YOU!"

With one swift movement Break's sword was unsheathed and ready to fight. He turned around in a flash which blocked the girl from Gil, Alice, and Oz's eyesight. Gil touched Oz's head to unleash Alice's powers, but just as she turned to help Break, she stopped.

The time period in which the girl vanished and B-rabbit was unleashed had been about 2 seconds. Gil's quick thinking and Break's practiced movements were almost unbeatable and yet, something was…..off.

"Alice what are you doing?!" Oz yelled, and followed her gaze to where Break and the girl were standing. Break was rigid still. They both turned slightly and Oz gasped.

_Her hand….her hand is….is…..INSIDE of him. _He thought with his jaw dropped.

Break's eye was wide and staring into the girl's where she happily looked out at them all. No blood gushed from where her hand entered Break, it had just passed right through, as if she were a ghost.

"Drop your sword and call off your chain or I swear I'll stop his heart," she said coldly, with a huge grin on her face that made Alice shrink back.

"What….I….how are you…" stuttered Gil.

"It's just a power of mine, there's not much to it," she paused, "Now, I can pull my hand out and leave no damage, not even a scar. But I think we both know I'm not going to do that, Mr. Hatter."


	4. An Odd Social Life

"I did a little research on you," said the girl as Break's facial expression changed from one of shock to one of his usual uninterested looks, despite the hand currently wrapped around his heart.

"Ah, I see. Find anything interesting?" he replied calmly, as if the two were simply talking about the weather.

"Only everything. It's interesting what the Barma family chain had to tell me about you. I do know almost all the celebrity chains you know. All the duke's, some of the smaller aristocrat's, we have lunch sometimes," she said laughing. "I bet you never considered your chain may have a social life."

"If you really do know my chain I seriously doubt he was very popular on the little Abyss playground or anything," Break said, shuffling uncomfortably. "He's made to kill other chains."

At that, the girl's face gave a demonic twitch and Break cried out as her hand tightened around his still-beating heart. She released and Break breathed hard trying to catch his breath.

"Please don't hurt him! Break!" cried Oz. He couldn't help but feel scared for his 'comrade' despite all the annoyance he usually caused Oz.

"Shut your mouth you filthy contractor! And as for you Hatter, don't you dare make assumptions about a man you know nothing about! Yes, Mad was always very solitary, he hated us all, but don't act like you know him even for a moment!" the girl yelled in pure fury.

"Man? You act as though he still is human! I've been to Abyss and I survived. I could have become a chain if I had stayed a little longer. That's WHY they're chains. They had their humanity taken…."

Break was cut off as the girl's free hand traveled up to rest against his remaining right eye. She pressed two fingers against it slightly, and gave a hiss.


	5. Bloody Tears

"What…. What are you doing?" Break said quietly. His whole demeanor had changed. His sarcastic grin had changed to a thin twitchy line and he was rigid again.

"Maybe I should just take your other eye, Mr. Break. Haha, isn't that a funny name? Break. Well let me just tell you something, Break. That's exactly what I'll do to you. I will _break_ you," she licked her lips and pressed against his one remaining eye a bit harder, as her other hand felt his heart speed up.

"Are you scared Mr. Hatter? Hm? Do you want to cry? Did you cry when the Will of Abyss ruined the left side of your face?"

Break remained silent as the others watched in complete horror. They couldn't move. They couldn't help. How could they when one jerk of her arm could kill their friend?

"If you don't want a repeat of those events," she said as the two fingers pressed even harder, causing Break to let out an inaudibly gasp, "I suggest you beg for your life."

"I will never beg you…..you chain rights activist," Break said rather riskily.

The girl gave a yell and threw Break into the nearby wall where he managed to land stealthily unharmed. Before he could even think about attacking, her hand was around his neck, pinning him against the wall.

"Do you really have a death wish? I can certainly make that happen!" Break gave a laugh at her words and she bashed his head roughly into the brick to silence him.

"What you don't think I was serious about my request? CRY FOR ME HATTER!" For one fleeting moment, Break managed to see the only, normal blue eye switch to black. She hissed as her fingernails turned to talons that she used to rip open the healed, hollow eye socket of his left eye. His right widened in horror as he gave a piercing scream he never intended to unleash.

"THAT'S RIGHT HATTER. SCREAM! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH US CHAINS SCREAM IN ABYSS? SCREAM FOR MERCY? EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND!" her talons raked across his body, reducing his shirt to slivers as his torso oozed red hot blood. He reached up to cover his bleeding eye socket that was sending shocks of pain through his body.

"Get off him!" Alice yelled, finally unable to stay in the sidelines any longer. She changed to B-rabbit form and advanced on the girl, who whirled around and gave a smile.

"Even you, Alice, can not stop me," the girl said before throwing Alice away like a doll. "Let's make a deal. I don't kill you nor your little blonde contractor and his friend, if, and I say if, you leave me this little toy to play with."

"No chance!" yelled Oz. "Break is our friend too! We would never leave him!"

"Is that so?" said the girl as she released Break from her grip, who slid to his knees, clutching his bloody socket.

"Well I don't want to kill any of you 3. Oz Vessalius you know your chain, but that may be because she forces you to. This man uses his chain to only help the filth of this world…."

"The….the H-Hatter agreed to the contract without force," Said Break as he managed to stand up. "H-he gets nothing but it's….it's what he agreed to do."

The girl walked back over to him and Break held his ground, staring at her but not removing his hand that was now soaked in blood from his face.

"This is true. Very true. I wonder what the reason for that could be. Have you ever asked him?" She said simply, seeming to have calmed down suddenly.

"I…he….well….he has no mouth," said Break a bit thrown off by her sudden change in attitude. This caused the girl to laugh. Her eye was now crystal blue again.

"Oh you are hilarious," said the girl with a giggle. Break sighed in relief that things seemed stable. For now. "That doesn't mean he can't talk silly!"

Break shrugged and the girl tilted her head, giving a wicked grin.

"You're quite like him you know, The Mad Hatter I mean. I never met him personally but you seem to stand for the same things he did. Love and Peace. Let's see how far that really gets you."


	6. Sealing Fate

_Hello all, this is Relic. I'm just writing to inform you that this will be the last updated chapter for about 2 weeks. I'll be out of state with no internet service except on my phone and though I'll really hate it I should be adding a few more new stories when I return. Thanks for your patience. Also, if you wish to contact me during this time I decided to get a Deviantart account. My username is RelicWhite (I'm so creative) and I'll be posting all my stories as well as art I can draw. I'd love to talk, so feel free!_

Break watched quietly as the girl got closer while Alice stayed put, unsure whether to advance or withdraw.

"Mad Hatter was a man once before he was sucked into Abyss. A normal one, many say. Rather pleasant and even good looking. He was a hippie for his day and a major pacifist. He would never hurt a fly," Break continued listening in confusion, unsure why she was telling him this.

"The Hatter is said to have been thrown into Abyss by mistake. He was alone, surrounded by evil and violence. Silence was all he had. He screamed for help but no one came. He couldn't be heard. That's why, over time, as he stayed in there for years and years, he began to laugh and laugh. He started to loose his sanity and with that, his humanity, as you described. Think about it: what does a man, who would never raise a hand to anyone, do when stuck in a place surrounded by hatred? He began to deny it. He ignored and imagined and erased it from his mind. That's how the Hatter got his gift of denying the existence of anything from Abyss."

"Why do you seem to think it's important that I know this?" said Break quietly. "I've already heard the story of the Hatter. It's well told."

The girl laughed and gave a sad sigh.

"I should gut you right here," she said, dragging a talon across his neck, leaving a deep but non fatal cut. He flinched but did not cry out.

"I just feel like it's important for you to know, since I'm not going to kill you," she said finally. "Killing you was a stupid idea anyway. You wouldn't have learned the lesson I teach."

"How is he supposed to learn your silly lesson?" asked Gil. "You try to teach contractors to appreciate their chains but Break already does! He loves Mad Hatter far more than I ever cared for Raven that's for sure."

"This may be true, and if I had the time I'd teach all 4 of you about the way things should really be, but for now I really must go. I'll make you a deal though. For your trouble I will stop killing in the area. It's obvious you're not going to beat me and your friend here obviously needs some medical attention. I think I may have squeezed his fragile little heart a bit too tight," she said, and as if it were planned, Break coughed up spatters of dark colored blood.

"I will not kill your friend here, but I will not let him go free. He will learn my lesson and he will learn it well. He has not seen what my power can really do. He does not know who I am and soon, he will be questioning who he is. It was a rather short encounter I had with you all, but thanks for lending me your little punching bag here. I may see you again soon," she said and began to leave. She stopped short and slapped her forehead in self-frustration.

"I almost forgot!" She yelled before running back to Break's side. "I need to fix your eye!" She laid a hand overtop the bleeding socket and pushed lightly. Her blue eye was now once again replaced with black and Break's blood ran cold as she finished with the words "And thereby seal your fate."

Her hand began to glow a bright red color over the socket that momentarily blinded him and the others. When he could finally open his eye again the girl was gone. Gil, Oz and Alice immediately ran to Break the minute the coast was clear.

"Break I'm so sorry. I didn't know what I should have done. One move and you'd be…well…you know," said Alice, now back in her original form.

"Are you alright Break? We need to get you back and to the infirmary. Some of these cuts are pretty bad," said Gil.

"Oh shush all of you I'm just fine," said Break with his telltale smile. "She gave me quite the scare but she was probably just trying to intimidate…..intimidate….."

"Break are you ok?" Oz asked, looking at his expression. Break was now staring straight forward, he had stopped clutching his eye a while ago though it was still bleeding. His fists were balled and white at his sides, and he gave no reply.

"Break? Break can you hear me?" Gil asked as the man slid to the floor. Gil caught him by his arms before he fell and ordered Oz to get the carriage.

"Break tell me what's going on!" Gil said as his voice became panic-stricken.

"Something….something's wrong….I….Something terrible…..Is….wrong….." Break said in nothing but a whisper as his eye remained staring forward. The wind blew his hair revealing the bloody socket of his left eye but he made no attempt to cover it back up. Break always did this. He knew people found it disturbing, and he especially covered it in times like these in public.

Suddenly Break's mouth opened and he let out a horrible, blood piercing scream.

"BREAK!?" yelled Alice.

His arm shot up and his hand clutched at his eye socket, nails digging into the skin of his forehead. He thrashed and screamed louder, as Gil tried to hold him down in an attempt to steady him.

Sobs began to rack Break's body as he continued screaming, and he thrashed harder from Gil's grasp.

"Damn it Alice help me something's happening to him!" Gil yelled over the man's sad, rocking sobs and cries of intense pain.

"WHAT DID SHE DO TO ME?!" Break screamed as his hands shot up to his hair, which he pulled while biting down onto his lip and drawing blood.

"Break please, what is it that hurts? Tell me I promise we can help!" Gil yelled, but Break still gave no reply. He stopped thrashing and instead, curled up in a ball ripping at his hair and shrinking from Gil and Alice's touch. His screams stopped and his cries quieted but this made the whole scene much, much worse. Break continued to cry and as quiet sobs racked his body Gil couldn't help but punch his hand into the concrete ground.

_These are the cries of a broken man. _Thought Gil sadly. _She said she'd break him, she gave him hell, but what in the world is going on now? _

"M-my head….m-my head…." Said Break before his cries quieted even more. Now the racks of his thin frame were the only thing telling the two he was still awake.

"WHERE THE HELL IS OZ WITH THAT CARRIAGE?!" was all Gil could say, clutching his bloody friend.


	7. Still Carriage

_Sorry for the time it took to get this chapter posted but I just returned home! Thanks for the support and I love all the positive reviews. Just FYI I'll be posting a new short story very soon that I'm in the process of writing. The title is "The Duel-Sided Mirror" and I'm telling you this because it'll include a clue as to where this story is going. Let's see if any of you can guess my train of thought. There's been many clues so far anyway! -Relic White_

"Oz you've got to get this carriage going faster!" yelled Gil from the cabin inside. "I'm not letting him go into shock!"

The carriage hit a bump and Break gave a loud moan of pain as he continued clutching his head. Alice and Gil had laid him down on one of the benches the best they could, and Gil was furiously trying to bandage Break's wounds. Alice offered her hair ribbon as a tie to stem the flow of blood.

"Break you can't just stay quiet we need to know you're still all here," said Gil. When Break gave no reply Alice shook him slightly and actually looked a bit…..what was that expression…..frightened?

"Come on if you die who else will I be able to make fun of?" Alice said, obviously trying to stir a comeback from the half-conscious man.

Break continued giving no reply and soon enough was reduced to stillness. They hit another bump but this time Break didn't react.

"Oh my god is he…." Alice started.

"No! No Break don't you dare! You're always ok come on! Don't do this!" Gil started to beg as he reached to check Break's pulse. It was there, but barely.

"I see the Rainsworth mansion!" Oz shouted from the outside of the carriage where he led the way. "We're almost there!"

Gil slipped his arm under Break's, and lifted him into a cradling position in order to carry him. His head rolled back, revealing his mutilated face again.

"Alice I need you to run inside and alert everyone on the grounds we need help immediately. Get the doctor and tell Sharon to get Pandora over here," Gil said just as the carriage came to a screeching halt.

Alice busted out of the carriage and ran inside in a flash as Gil carefully removed Break from the cabin with Oz's help. Gathering the still man in his arms again Gil hurried to the mansion doors and into the foyer of the building before laying him down. Now that it was a bit un-cramped compared to being stuck in the carriage, Oz really saw the extent of Break's injuries. He turned around as the sound of footsteps approached them.

"What's going on Oz? Alice just ran by screaming something about a doctor…." Sharon started but let out a scream at the sight of Break.

"It's….it's just like before….." Sharon said in a whisper, obviously referring to when Break appeared outside of the Rainsworth's gate to Abyss years ago. Gil turned a bit to cover the man's bloody eye from her vision.

"Sharon, get Pandora over here now. The chain attacked Break. That thing wasn't normal and his injuries are serious. Where's the doctor for your infirmary?"

"Alice is getting him," Sharon said quietly as tears came to her eyes. "I need to go tell my mom what happened."

Sharon ran off as Oz knelt by Break's side.

"He's still alive isn't he?" Oz asked in a choked voice. Gil nodded and Oz continued. "You know, now that I think about it, that chain was pretty odd. I didn't see a contractor anywhere. Even if one of those 2 men was it's contractor, doesn't that mean she'd be gone after killing him?"

"They may have been hiding close by, but it definitely is strange," said Gil as rushing footsteps and shouts came closer.

A man dressed in a white robe shooed Oz and Gil away as he examined Break's unmoving figure.

"This man is in need of immediate care. We're taking him upstairs. Until then the Pandora agents are on their way and will probably want a word with all 3 of you," said the man who was obviously the doctor.

This man and 2 others carefully lifted Break up onto a stretcher and rushed him down the hall. Gil and Oz tried to follow when a voice stopped them short. It was Uncle Oscar.

"Now kids let the man do his job. This is a horrible mess and you all need to come in here and take a breather. Just tell me what happened."


	8. Pandora's Threat Identification Unit

Oz had explained in full detail all of the nights events, from the argument at teatime to the carriage arriving. Uncle Oscar sat in silence until he was finished. The rest of the night held a dark atmosphere that seemed to engulf the whole house. Sharon was no where to be found and Oz, Gil, and Alice sat by the fire with bent heads.

"You know we may have been the only people to survive an encounter with that thing right?" said Alice quietly. "If Break wakes up he'll be able to…."

"Don't say if," replied Oz quietly. "He'll be ok. He always is. She was just a chain and I'm sure Pandora and the doctor can help him."

The silence continued for what seemed like hours until the door behind them opened and a few well dressed men entered. Uncle Oscar stood behind them and motioned for the 3 to come forward.

"These are a few members of Pandora's threat identification unit. They're going to need to ask a few questions that may be necessary to help Xerxes," Oscar said seriously.

The three nodded and stepped into the hallway as Uncle Oscar took his leave.

"Hello, you must be Oz Vessalius," said the most important looking one of the men. "We're hearing a lot about you these days. Ah, and his trusty attendant as well. It's nice to meet you both."

"Ey what about me?" said Alice noticing the fact he completely ignored her. The man shifted uncomfortably and looked off to his left.

"I would have greeted you as well, B-rabbit, but I'm the man who handles your file. It's not exactly good looking I may add," the man continued. "That's what we do you see. We handle all of the files on the myths, monsters, contractors, and chains from Abyss. We're hoping that by gathering some information we can identify just what harmed your friend. I got word he's not responding well to treatment."

Alice balled her fists and looked away trying to put on a neutral expression.

_This is my fault._ She thought, loathing herself. _I could have crushed that girl. I could have helped him. I know how much I always hate him but those screams….Even through all that he still didn't beg._

"Well," said Gil, who's observant eyes and tall stature had given him the best look at the chain in question. "The first thing we saw when we walked up was that she looked human. She was being attacked by 2 contractors, or I guess now she was attacking them. One was screaming but she was barely touching him. She looked a few years younger than Oz with black hair. The main second thing I noticed was her eyes. One was blue but the other….." he paused, thinking it over, "It was all black. No eye whites at all."

"That's very good," said one of the Pandora agents who was writing down notes. "Can you tell us what power it was using while attacking your friend?" Gil answered this one in a slightly darkened tone.

"She was so fast. And strong. She threw Alice while in B-rabbit form across the street and into a wall. I have no idea why but it seemed like her powers were all over the place. At one point she grew talons and just started….RIPPING at him."

"She reached inside him," Alice said quietly, and the Pandora agents looked in her direction in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" said one.

"She just passed right through him. It's why I didn't attack. She said if Oz didn't call me off she'd stop his heart," Alice replied and this made the third man look mortified.

He started flipping through his identification book and turned to the other 2 agents.

"We really must be going. This chain can not continue to be loose on the streets," he said before running down the corridor.

"He looked scared. Do you know what she was?" Oz asked the man in charge.

"He was indeed frightened, but we haven't the faintest clue what this is. That's probably the reason for our agent's hasty retreat. There is not much about chains us agents do not know. This girl seems new to us, and that is a frightening thought indeed. Have a good night," he replied as the 2 remaining men left down the hall.

"Have a good night?" sighed Oz. "How can he say that when even the agent trying to help took off running? And you heard him. Break isn't doing well at all. Not only that but that stupid doctor won't even let us in the room to see him!"

Gil paced the room in silence and Alice gave a weak shrug. Oz looked over and met Alice's eyes. Her face was twisted and shaky, as if she were trying not to cry.

"Alice….?" Oz started before the door flung open and Sharon entered, puffy-eyed but out of breath. She gave a tearful smile and practically raced out of the room followed by the others as she said her news:

"Guys get upstairs quick. Break just woke up!"


	9. Whisper of Death

_As life dragged him forward with a forceful rage,_

_Death whispered sweet coaxing in his ear._

_-RW_

"Absolutely not!" The doctor said in anger, his voice rising. Sharon glared furiously but forced a smile.

"You say that, but all I hear is BLAH BLAH BLAH," she gasped dramatically as her princess act took shape. "I suppose I'll just have to inform Duchess Rainsworth about the actions of the staff." At this the man turned pale.

Sharon and the doctor had been arguing on for over an hour outside of the door to Break's medical room. Gil, Alice and Oz waited rather impatiently, sometimes throwing in an argument to support Sharon's case.

"Ms. Sharon I understand you're worried about your servant but I can't let you see him quite yet. He's been through quite a lot and needs time to recover…." He was cut off as Sharon mumbled "very well" and started in the direction of Mrs. Rainsworth's office. With a horrified look the doctor chased after her, yelling something about unemployment.

Gil looked at his pocket watch. It had taken 30 minutes to find this damn medical room, 5 for Sharon to explain how she found out Break was awake (it was a gossipy servant, by the way), and another hour for Sharon to try to budge the doctor from guarding the doorway. He looked over at Oz who slumped against the wall, defeated.

"Oz what's wrong?" Gil said quietly as he closed the watch.

"Nothing it's just….Now even the doctor's gone. Break's all alone in there and we're still not sure how he is. The way the doctor sounded….I can't help but think that maybe this may not end well. Maybe we will never know. How are we supposed to get in? Couldn't Sharon see that leaving wouldn't help us OR Break? And besides….wait…" Oz stopped and looked around confused. "Where'd Alice go? She was just here!"

"Oy, Oz and Seaweed head," came Alice's voice from behind the now kicked-down door of Break's room.

Startled but grateful of Alice's forceful approach, Gil and Oz rushed into the room and were immediately forced to their knees by one particular thing: the smell.

Oz's eyes watered as he managed to look around the dim room. Alice was leaning against a wall for support just a few feet away. Gil was kneeling beside him, trembling obviously. What Oz mostly saw was the blood.

_Blood. Everywhere. _Oz thought to himself as he covered his nose and mouth. It streaked up the walls and covered the floor in a vast puddle around the bed where a familiar thin frame lay. A thin frame with snow white hair, now turned orange by the crimson of his own veins. A thin frame that was most certainly not awake. Tears began to drip down Oz's cheeks as his mind tried to catch up with what his eyes were seeing. He didn't want to think. He wanted to run away from the undeniable truth.

_**Xerxes Break was dead.**_


	10. The Oddness of Reim Lunettes

_I actually finished this chapter immediately after my last. Sorry for the possible heart attacks I was getting in my reviews. I just had to give you guys a little scare, but come on, I can't kill Break! Well, maybe. I am a devious writer, you'll see that in my next twisted chapter. _

_-Relic White_

_p.s. perhaps its cliché to thank you guys for reviewing, but I'll give in to the urge anyway. I was especially pleased with DGtnsl('s multiple reviews as they not only guessed towards the ending, (not saying it's correct) but they also left reviews from the first chapter being funny, to oh no, to guessing towards the end, and then to "WHAT?!" You made my morning!_

"Oz! Alice! Gil! You can't be in there!" Came a familiar nervous voice. Reim darted to Oz's side and offered a hand to help him stand up. Oz made no indication of wanting to move.

"Reim….I…..He's….Break is….I'm so sorry…..Break….is….." Oz stuttered.

"Dead? No. It may look that way with such a gruesome scene, but that is precisely why Doctor Gray didn't want the 3 of you, or Miss Sharon, in here. Besides, Xerxes isn't awake just quite yet, and after I heard from Shelly and Oscar the ordeal he went through I don't blame him. He's strong but not invincible, no matter what egotistical thing he may boast about himself," Reim said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Now let's stop all this shaking and crying and have ourselves some tea in the next room. I think we all need some peace." All three nodded at this and followed.

"Has there been any news on the chain we encountered?" Oz asked as he sipped his warm, soothing drink. It was nice to sit and calm down after the scare that had occurred just a few minutes before.

"Not that I have heard of personally, but of course Lord Barma is the one who tends to catch me up on things and he's in a mood," Reim smiled slightly at this. Alice's hand tightened around the cup she was holding.

_His smile is so stiff…..He's staying so relaxed even when his friend was so….so bloody. _She thought. Despite her uneasy feeling that he wasn't letting on as much as he knew she sighed. Soon enough they'd be able to see Break for themselves once he was awake and cleaned up.

Reim shifted awkwardly and looked at his watch. "The Pandora Members and Rainsworth staff should be done cleaning up the blood by now," Reim said softly. Perhaps we should all just head off to bed. Who knows when he'll wake up!"

As if on queue, a well dressed Pandora member opened the door and peered at Reim. "He has just woken up," the man said seriously before taking his leave. Reim jumped to his feet and lunged out the door before anyone else could utter a word. Oz and Gil prepared to follow, when Alice caught Oz by the wrist.

"Something's wrong Oz….I…I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Reim was acting so strange. He gets an ulcer every time Break uses Mad Hatter but he almost died and Reim is perfectly relaxed. He said Break would be just fine, but the way he lunged out the door like that…." Oz nodded in agreement and Gil bowed his head as well.

"You weren't the only one to notice. I was sitting closest to Reim and could see him trembling while we talked. He's nervous, about what, I don't know. We can't really know until we find out ourselves. One thing's for sure though, let's go see Break!" said Oz as he sprinted in the direction Reim had gone.

It turned out that the Rainsworth servants had moved Break 2 rooms down from his original bloody one and that's exactly where they followed Reim too. As they approached they were met by the door opening and the 3 men from Pandora's Threat Identification that they had met earlier stepped out. One turned his head and met Alice's eyes, completely ignoring Oz and Gil, the ones he had so heartily greeted before.

"Filthy chain scum," he said with a look of disgust before all 3 walked away. Oz, Gil, Alice, and Reim all stared after him in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL? What just happened? Things were fine a few hours ago? Alice what did you do?" Oz said as his face flushed red in anger.

"Nothing!" said Alice with a sincere innocence. Reim looked away nervously before waving his hand.

"Let's forget all about it," he swallowed before continuing. "I'm going in to see Xerxes, you 3 stay out here."

With that, he turned into Break's room. _Just another weird thing Reim's said so far today. _Thought Alice, as Reim had almost seemed to EXPECT that treatment towards her from his colleagues. She looked over at Oz questioningly and he grinned stiffly.

"Like hell were going to wait outside," he said, before turning the handle and entering the room.


End file.
